Sea of Azov Waters in the Black Sea:
Do They Enhance Wind-Driven Flows
on the Shelf?
Peter O. Zavialov, Alexander S. Izhitskiy and Roman O. Sedakov
Introduction
The region of this study is shown in Fig. 1. The principal factor determining the
regime of this part of the Crimean shelf of the Black Sea is its proximity to the
Kerch Strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Shallow and brackish,
the latter is largely controlled by continental discharges from several rivers, of
which the biggest are the Don and the Kuban. The transformed continental runoffs
drain to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait (or, more precisely, through the
upper layer of the strait, while in the lower layer, typically, there exist less intense
flow of the opposite sign). On long-term average, the annual discharge from the
Kerch Strait is estimated at 75 km
3 , and the return flow totals to about 50% of this
volume [4, 5]. These numbers constitute significant components of the Black Sea
water budget even at the entire basin scales, not to mention the shelf immediately
adjacent to the strait.
It can be seen in many satellite scenes of the region how turbid sediment carrying waters of the Sea of Azov propagate mainly westward as a surface-trapped
low salinity plume along the Crimean coast (see example in Fig. 2). This flow
affects significantly the oceanographic regime and the ecological state of the area, as
it transports nutrients but also pollutants [8, 9], given that the Kerch Strait and the
Sea of Azov proper are subject to very strong anthropogenic loads. In many cases,
the Sea of Azov plume can be traced for over 100 km in a relatively narrow
(≈10 km) stripe stretching westward along the shore up to Feodosia Bay and even
farther west. In contrast with the area of the Kerch Strait, the part of the Black Sea
shelf west of the strait has been relatively poorly explored in the past, only a
handful of research cruises took place there (e.g., [6, 7]).
P. O. Zavialov ( ✉ ) ⋅ A. S. Izhitskiy ⋅ R. O. Sedakov
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
e-mail: peter@ocean.ru
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
M. G. Velarde et al. (eds.), The Ocean in Motion, Springer Oceanography,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71934-4_28
461
Do They Enhance Wind-Driven Flows
on the Shelf?
Peter O. Zavialov, Alexander S. Izhitskiy and Roman O. Sedakov
Introduction
The region of this study is shown in Fig. 1. The principal factor determining the
regime of this part of the Crimean shelf of the Black Sea is its proximity to the
Kerch Strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Shallow and brackish,
the latter is largely controlled by continental discharges from several rivers, of
which the biggest are the Don and the Kuban. The transformed continental runoffs
drain to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait (or, more precisely, through the
upper layer of the strait, while in the lower layer, typically, there exist less intense
flow of the opposite sign). On long-term average, the annual discharge from the
Kerch Strait is estimated at 75 km
3 , and the return flow totals to about 50% of this
volume [4, 5]. These numbers constitute significant components of the Black Sea
water budget even at the entire basin scales, not to mention the shelf immediately
adjacent to the strait.
It can be seen in many satellite scenes of the region how turbid sediment carrying waters of the Sea of Azov propagate mainly westward as a surface-trapped
low salinity plume along the Crimean coast (see example in Fig. 2). This flow
affects significantly the oceanographic regime and the ecological state of the area, as
it transports nutrients but also pollutants [8, 9], given that the Kerch Strait and the
Sea of Azov proper are subject to very strong anthropogenic loads. In many cases,
the Sea of Azov plume can be traced for over 100 km in a relatively narrow
(≈10 km) stripe stretching westward along the shore up to Feodosia Bay and even
farther west. In contrast with the area of the Kerch Strait, the part of the Black Sea
shelf west of the strait has been relatively poorly explored in the past, only a
handful of research cruises took place there (e.g., [6, 7]).
P. O. Zavialov ( ✉ ) ⋅ A. S. Izhitskiy ⋅ R. O. Sedakov
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
e-mail: peter@ocean.ru
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
M. G. Velarde et al. (eds.), The Ocean in Motion, Springer Oceanography,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71934-4_28
461